Articles
The Secret of Success
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)
Joshua was a great leader. He had a challenging task ahead of him. He must hold together 1 million people, and successfully lead an invasion of a foreign land. What was the secret to his success? Was it his charisma? Strategy? The real key to victory was to think deeply and continually on God’s word!
Such promises should not be strange to us. We believe that God is really going to help us prosper just like He said He would. When Joshua and Israel marched into the land of Canaan, Jericho was the first city to conquer. Joshua’s strategy might not have impressed many Generals. Marching around the walls of the city and blowing trumpets is usually not the kind of strategy used to conquer. Israel’s victory was not because of the size of the army or the speed of their chariots. It was because they obeyed God!
All of the great leaders of Israel spent time with God in his word. Moses had his tent of meeting, “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you. “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory” (Exodus 29:42-43).
There was Ezra’s resolve, “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10).
Finally, the Psalmist said, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalms 1:1-3).
Haven’t we spent enough of our time soaking up the world? Let’s give this a try. Let’s and start soaking up God’s word. His word will soften our hearts and strengthen our souls.
